<p>It is a big commitment to be in boy scout. This is my son’s 7th year, weekly meets, monthly outing, merit badge college…he is a star scout now. I must say it is a rewarding experience, and I hope it also helps his college application. </p>
<p>@Rellielou
Not the people who matter in terms of college admissions. Eagle isn’t an unknown factor to them.</p>
<p>Yes, I meant people who think it is no different than any other service project. I was not referring to AOs. </p>
You all have got the wrong idea of what a Eagle Scout is and what it takes to be one. To be a ES shows commitment, passion, and leadership and only a ES will fully understand the meaning. In scouting less than 2% of scouts ever get to ES, from camping, to hiking, to scuba diving, and even flying a plane are just a few of the many activities unique to scouting. Is it a coincidence that 1/2 of male astronauts are ES or that 1/3 of males at West Point are ES? NO! Having your ES can almost guarantee you a job interview or a second look on college applications and will typically compensate upto .5 of your GPA. You can’t keep looking at this like a award on a piece of paper, it means a lot more. I am a Eagle Scout and I have put 171 total man hours on my ES project alone, not to mention the +100 hrs community service I have done alone.
Please stop if you get in a web of lies and mishaps.
Being a ES does take commitment and skill, but it’s still just another EC. I put the same amount of volunteer hours as you did outside of Boy Scouts. As for astronauts and soldiers, being in the Boy Scouts does improve one’s physicality, but so does sports. Does that mean that sports will “guarantee you a job interview or a second look on college applications and will typically compensate upto .5 of your GPA?” Definitely not. I truly respect Eagle Scouts, but you’re going overboard by saying this.
My son is an Eagle Scout, and I’m a scout leader… but my experience is that being and Eagle Scout can mean almost nothing. Almost every scout in our small troop earns Eagle. Some are great scouts, and reliable young men, others are boys who ‘went through the motions’, and earned enough merit badges, and executed projects where they were straw men for their fathers. You can set the bar so low that you have to dig for it.
It does represent several years of continuous activity, and the ability to play well with others. I don’t think of it as a result of performance, but rather of endurance.
(Don’t hate me. I had a completely different opinion before helping eight or nine boys through their service projects!)
I strongly agree with you. Before my “group” of scouts joined my troop there were only 4 scouts and they were about ready to converge with another troop. I see it as not what you learn, but your ability to.
@Hawkace
It really comes down to the circumstance that you were in, but in my case there were just more than ES. You can not compare sports and ES to each other because they are on 2 different levels, although acouting is far greater and more fair for those who don’t enjoy sports.
@andrew148 – sure. No one is saying ES is an exact apples to apples comparison to sports. But both can have the potential to be extremely rigorous – but your bloviated assertions:
- can almost guarantee you a job interview
- (get) a second look on college applications
- will typically compensate up to .5 of your GPA
… are baloney. Sounds like the kind of recruiting propaganda you’ve heard and are passing along to other ES candidates. Like I stated earlier – ES is a solid and recognized EC by colleges – but you shouldn’t overstate its importance either.
My son is an Eagle Scout as well. I believe it helped his college applications because it shows dedication in the community. He has been in Scouts since third grade and got his Eagle Scout in 9th grade. Of course along with his other EC and GPA and testing he got into 5 of the 6 schools he applied to! It has also opened doors I believe for programs like HOBY and Governors Nominations at his high school.
Also if they want to go to a military academy it is most useful!
This is like people who ask if National Honor Society is worth it…it is more about the hard work put into good grades and service hours that is worth it.
@T26E4 I am not saying that this is a guarantee, but they are things that you can expect. I was never a good studier in high school and my GPA showed for it. I applied to many colleges and never expected much to come from Eagle, but then I got accepted to University Wisconsin, which requires a 3.6 GPA or something which is remarcable considering my GPA WAS 3.2 or something and when I asked why they accepted me he gave me a quick response “you are a ES, we know you are committed”. This is just my story, under my circumstances and I ask that you respect that, please watch this before you say anything else http://youtu.be/I7xKw8vlRGA
Actually, it is. The city of Ventura, CA, claims they have the youngest Eagle Scout in the history of the program. Kaylan Ouerbacker was awarded the Eagle Scout rank at age 11. (See below, pg 5).
http://www.cityofventura.net/files/file/meetings/city_council/2014/12-15-14/item%2001.pdf
I think earning the Eagle is a good thing to have on your record, but I don’t know how much leadership it can represent when it’s earned at such a young age.
My now sophomore earned Eagle rank one month before high school. He also has completed 1st 2 levels of Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s national honor society. Scouting’s path to Eagle is fantastic leadership training - and 14 year old teens are ready to take on leadership jobs in a Troop or O.A. Chapter. Think about the project management skills obtained by planning & executing the Eagle Project. I enjoyed watching my son gain invaluable communication, planning, and execution skills during his 8th grade year.
It is best to encourage Eagle or Gold for Girl Scouts before high school, however, due to the demands and opportunities that are presented to most teens. Further, the Eagle rank on my son’s resume to date has had what I consider a “halo” effect… he got picked for several high visibility city-wide and school leadership spots in the past year and a half over other teens (City of Houston police department youth council, and his school’s HOBY spot).
Finally, there is no doubt having Eagle on your job resume means a lot in a tough job market. My husband’s top 200 law firm sees so many resumes. But when an Eagle lists his background… he often breaks through the stack of resumes to clinch that first interview.
Hope you become a parent of one or more Eagles!
I think it is a regional thing for areas of the country like the midwest or south. I do not know anyone who stayed in scouting past 3rd grade. I live in the north east. Since most people my parents and I know do not do this, if they were hiring they would not know to value being an ES, it but would put it on the level of a black belt in karate. Interesting but not a reason to hire someone. Having done karate for a number of years when I was younger, I know what you mean about paper scouts. At the place I went the parents just had to complain enough and eventually you were promoted (even though in theory you were not supposed to ask) amd no one ever failed a belt test. However a friend went to a better more intense place that was so intense he eventually got a stress fracture
So like karate if your kids enjoy this great, if not I would not push it. Let them at least try it the same as they would a sport
@SaphireNY I live in the northeast and our town has two strong troop with about 60 active boys. My son’s troop is very old school and expects a huge time commitment. By the time the oldest made eagle his senior year he had been PL, TG, ASPL, SPL. It is one of the few EC that really develop leadership to the extent it does. If done right, it is very meaningful. And they learn so much earning merit badge.
D is in the final stages of her Gold Award so it was listed as “in progress” in her applications and she did use her scouting experience in some of the essays. Has it helped? Not sure. It didn’t help with the one prestigious college she applied to and was rejected ED, although we had heard they favored both scouts and IB. She will hear from several schools this week, a few of them reaches, and we shall see just how much weight these things hold. When I say reaches, she is at 50% in their stats but lacks any real hooks. Twelve years of scouting was a huge commitment but this year was over the top trying to do college apps, IB exams, and completing her Gold Award. Her projected Award date is May.
DS#1 is an eagle scout. IIRC, holding one or more leadership positions was a requirement to earn the rank of Eagle.
I agree with SaphireNY. I think it is somewhat regional. I don’t think it means as much in more liberal and urban areas. I’ve never done hiring, but my husband has. Scouting done at all, let alone in high school has never come up in resumes or interviews. He would think it odd. Honestly, in some places or with people who have strong feelings about discrimination, it could leave negative impressions.
I think, like most ECs, scouting is something you do because you enjoy it and want to be a part of it, not beause it might look good someday on a college application or resume.
@mom2twogirls Of course, the Boy Scouts have removed discriminating policies for all scouts and I don’t think the Girl Scouts ever had them for scouts and leaders. Is that right @NEPatsGirl?
Boy Scouts end discrimination for scouts Jan 2014
http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/MembershipStandards/Resolution/results.aspx